| VIRGIN ISLANDS United States Virgin Islands United States Virgin Islands (organized, unincorporated territory of the United States) Joined United Nations: 24 October 1945 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 21 October 2012 |
SUBCHAPTER II—BILL OF RIGHTS
§ 1561. Rights and prohibitions
No law shall be enacted in the Virgin Islands which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or
deny to any person therein equal protection of the laws.
In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to be represented by counsel for his defense, to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof, to have a speedy, and public trial, to be confronted with the witnesses against
him, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.
No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law, and no person for the same offense shall be
twice put in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal cause to give evidence against himself; nor shall any
person sit as judge or magistrate in any case in which he has been engaged as attorney or prosecutor.
All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties in the case of criminal offenses, except for first-degree murder or any capital offense
when the proof is evident or the presumption great.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted.
No person shall be imprisoned or shall suffer forced labor for debt.
All persons shall have the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the same shall not be suspended except as herein expressly
provided.
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
Private property shall not be taken for public use except upon payment of just compensation ascertained in the manner provided by
law.
The right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.
No warrant for arrest or search shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Slavery shall not exist in the Virgin Islands.
Involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted by a court of law, shall not
exist in the Virgin Islands.
No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assembly [1] and
petition the government for the redress of grievances.
No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
No person who advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party, organization, or association which advocates, the overthrow by force
or violence of the government of the Virgin Islands or of the United States shall be qualified to hold any office of trust or profit under
the government of the Virgin Islands.
No money shall be paid out of the Virgin Islands treasury except in accordance with an Act of Congress or money bill of the
legislature and on warrant drawn by the proper officer.
The contracting of polygamous or plural marriages is prohibited.
The employment of children under the age of sixteen years in any occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to life or limb
is prohibited.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to limit the power of the legislature herein provided to enact laws for the
protection of life, the public health, or the public safety.
No political or religious test other than an oath to support the Constitution and the laws of the United States applicable to the Virgin
Islands, and the laws of the Virgin Islands, shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Government of the
Virgin Islands.
The following provisions of and amendments to the Constitution of the United States are hereby extended to the Virgin Islands to the
extent that they have not been previously extended to that territory and shall have the same force and effect there as in the United
States or in any State of the United States: article I, section 9, clauses 2 and 3; article IV, section 1 and section 2, clause 1; article VI,
clause 3; the first to ninth amendments inclusive; the thirteenth amendment; the second sentence of section 1 of the fourteenth
amendment; and the fifteenth and nineteenth amendments: Provided, however, That all offenses against the laws of the United States
and the laws of the Virgin Islands which are prosecuted in the district court pursuant to sections [2] 1612(a) and (c) of this title may
be had by indictment by grand jury or by information, and that all offenses against the laws of the Virgin Islands which are prosecuted
in the district court pursuant to section 1612 (b) of this title or in the courts established by local law shall continue to be prosecuted by
information, except such as may be required by local law to be prosecuted by indictment by grand jury.
All laws enacted by Congress with respect to the Virgin Islands and all laws enacted by the territorial legislature of the Virgin Islands
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection [2] are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
§ 1561. Rights and prohibitions
No law shall be enacted in the Virgin Islands which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or
deny to any person therein equal protection of the laws.
In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to be represented by counsel for his defense, to be informed of the nature
and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof, to have a speedy, and public trial, to be confronted with the witnesses against
him, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.
No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law, and no person for the same offense shall be
twice put in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal cause to give evidence against himself; nor shall any
person sit as judge or magistrate in any case in which he has been engaged as attorney or prosecutor.
All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties in the case of criminal offenses, except for first-degree murder or any capital offense
when the proof is evident or the presumption great.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be enacted.
No person shall be imprisoned or shall suffer forced labor for debt.
All persons shall have the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the same shall not be suspended except as herein expressly
provided.
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
Private property shall not be taken for public use except upon payment of just compensation ascertained in the manner provided by
law.
The right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.
No warrant for arrest or search shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Slavery shall not exist in the Virgin Islands.
Involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted by a court of law, shall not
exist in the Virgin Islands.
No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assembly [1] and
petition the government for the redress of grievances.
No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
No person who advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party, organization, or association which advocates, the overthrow by force
or violence of the government of the Virgin Islands or of the United States shall be qualified to hold any office of trust or profit under
the government of the Virgin Islands.
No money shall be paid out of the Virgin Islands treasury except in accordance with an Act of Congress or money bill of the
legislature and on warrant drawn by the proper officer.
The contracting of polygamous or plural marriages is prohibited.
The employment of children under the age of sixteen years in any occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to life or limb
is prohibited.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to limit the power of the legislature herein provided to enact laws for the
protection of life, the public health, or the public safety.
No political or religious test other than an oath to support the Constitution and the laws of the United States applicable to the Virgin
Islands, and the laws of the Virgin Islands, shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Government of the
Virgin Islands.
The following provisions of and amendments to the Constitution of the United States are hereby extended to the Virgin Islands to the
extent that they have not been previously extended to that territory and shall have the same force and effect there as in the United
States or in any State of the United States: article I, section 9, clauses 2 and 3; article IV, section 1 and section 2, clause 1; article VI,
clause 3; the first to ninth amendments inclusive; the thirteenth amendment; the second sentence of section 1 of the fourteenth
amendment; and the fifteenth and nineteenth amendments: Provided, however, That all offenses against the laws of the United States
and the laws of the Virgin Islands which are prosecuted in the district court pursuant to sections [2] 1612(a) and (c) of this title may
be had by indictment by grand jury or by information, and that all offenses against the laws of the Virgin Islands which are prosecuted
in the district court pursuant to section 1612 (b) of this title or in the courts established by local law shall continue to be prosecuted by
information, except such as may be required by local law to be prosecuted by indictment by grand jury.
All laws enacted by Congress with respect to the Virgin Islands and all laws enacted by the territorial legislature of the Virgin Islands
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection [2] are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
The Virgin Islands came under the possession of the Danish West India Company in 1733
when the island of St. Croix was purchased from the French and combined with St. Thomas,
and St. John to form the Danish West Indies. Before the advent of World War I, the United
States began to make overtures to the Danish to purchase the Virgin Islands for fear that
Germany would occupy the island if they defeated Denmark during the war. In 1917, a treaty
was concluded in which the Unites States purchased the islands for $25,000,000. After the
United States bought what is now known as the United States Virgin Islands from the
Danish, the islands became an unincorporated U.S. territory. The Organic Act, passed in
1932, granted inhabitants of the islands U.S. citizenship and a degree of self-governorship.
They do not vote for the President of the United States but do vote for a Governor. All terms
of the United States Constitution apply to citizens of the Virgin Islands; however, the
Organic Act contained a Bill of Rights as well. As with Puerto Rico, the residents have been
given the choice of independence, status quo, or statehood; however, these measures have
failed to attract sufficient civic interest or voter turn-out to produce even a noteworthy
plurality, much less a majority, and thus the islands will retain their current territorial status
for the foreseeable future. It is theorized that Puerto Rican requests for political
self-determination might serve as a catalyst for political interest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as
well as in other American territories. The present constitution conforms to the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of which the United States is a signatory. Those passages
specifically relating to human rights are detailed below. For a full English translation of the
United States Virgin Islands' Organic Act, click here.
when the island of St. Croix was purchased from the French and combined with St. Thomas,
and St. John to form the Danish West Indies. Before the advent of World War I, the United
States began to make overtures to the Danish to purchase the Virgin Islands for fear that
Germany would occupy the island if they defeated Denmark during the war. In 1917, a treaty
was concluded in which the Unites States purchased the islands for $25,000,000. After the
United States bought what is now known as the United States Virgin Islands from the
Danish, the islands became an unincorporated U.S. territory. The Organic Act, passed in
1932, granted inhabitants of the islands U.S. citizenship and a degree of self-governorship.
They do not vote for the President of the United States but do vote for a Governor. All terms
of the United States Constitution apply to citizens of the Virgin Islands; however, the
Organic Act contained a Bill of Rights as well. As with Puerto Rico, the residents have been
given the choice of independence, status quo, or statehood; however, these measures have
failed to attract sufficient civic interest or voter turn-out to produce even a noteworthy
plurality, much less a majority, and thus the islands will retain their current territorial status
for the foreseeable future. It is theorized that Puerto Rican requests for political
self-determination might serve as a catalyst for political interest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as
well as in other American territories. The present constitution conforms to the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights of which the United States is a signatory. Those passages
specifically relating to human rights are detailed below. For a full English translation of the
United States Virgin Islands' Organic Act, click here.